In his remarks, Al Qaed emphasized the importance of continuing to strengthen cooperation and coordination among GCC national statistical offices to further develop joint statistical work and unify efforts aimed at providing accurate and reliable statistical data and indicators that support development and decision-making across GCC countries.
The iGA CE also praised the advanced levels of digital and technological readiness at GCC countries, which have strengthened business continuity and enabled institutions to efficiently and effectively deal with the impact of the Iranian attacks on the Kingdom of Bahrain and GCC member states.
During the meeting, the committee reviewed several agenda items, including the efforts undertaken by the GCC Statistical Center (GCC-Stat) during the period from September 2025 to April 2026 in the areas of statistical capacity building, workshops, seminars, training programs, statistical publications, and the development of the Center’s digital statistical platforms. Members also followed up on the implementation of recommendations issued at the 12th meeting of the Permanent Committee for Statistical Work.
The committee further reviewed a memorandum regarding the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s hosting of the 6th United Nations World Data Forum in 2026 and the preparations made for the event. Members reaffirmed GCC support for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in organizing this important international statistical forum.
In addition, the committee reviewed progress on the preparation of the Joint GCC Statistical Work Strategy (2026–2030) and discussed the project to develop the GCC Framework for Statistical Standards and Methodologies (2026–2030), which aims to support the unification of statistical terminologies among GCC national statistical offices. Members also discussed a memorandum on guiding principles for providing international organizations with access to raw data.